Automobile hood latching means



Jan. 6, 1942. E. D. DALL AUTOMOBILE HOOD LATCHING MEANS Filed Nov. 8, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l -llll lill Jan. 6, 1942. E. D. DALL AUTOMOBILE HOOD LATCHING MEANS Filed Nov, 8, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 nzfEZ-Z :z Ew/fea 2 0.41.1..

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" Jan. 6, 1942. E, D. DALL AUTOMOBILE HOOD LATCHING MEANS l'Filed Nov. 8, 1940 vehicle.

ymain latching mechanism controllable from in- .side of the vehicle for effecting unlatching of the Patented Jan. 6, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENTA OFFICE AUTOMOBILE HOOD LATCHING MEANS Edward D. Dall, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Houdaille-Hershey Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a

corporation of Michigan Application November 8, 1940, Serial No. 364,782

s 7 Claims.

This inventionlelates to automobile hood latching means adapted particularly. for the latching control of hoods of the so-called Alligator type, which are hinged at their rear end along a hinge lin'e extending transversely of the Hoods of this type usually comprise a cover and a partial raising thereof, and additional latching means in the form of safety catch lstructure for preventing further opening movecover for swinging to its full open position. In

some prior systems it was necessary, after unlatching and partial opening of the cover, to insert the hand through the partial opening for releasing the safety catch means for full opening swing of the cover.

The important feature of my invention is to provide latching and safety catch structure which, after unlatching and partial opening of the cover, will not require the insertion of the hand or a tool through the partial opening for release of the safety catch, but in which, after partial opening of th'e coverand setting of the catching means to catching position, the safety catch means may be released or rendered ineffective by merely moving the cover down a short distance toward closing position, so that the cover will then be free to be swung to its full open position.

The various features of my invention :.re incorporated in the structure shown on the accompanying drawings, in which drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the latching and safety catch structure in its latching position, a portionof the hood body and the cover being shown in longitudinal vertical section;

Figure 2 is an end view of the latching and catch mechanism;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure l, showing the relative position of the various parts after the control means within the vehicle has been for movement of the cover to its full open position; and

Figure 6 shows a modified form of abutment or keeper structure for the safety catch hook member.

The hood body I0 has a supporting plate I I extending transversely at its forward end, and the cover I2 has a keeper plate I3 extending transversely at its forward end. The latch structure comprises a supporting base or plate I 4 having laterally extending feet or anges I5 by which it may be secured against the under side of the hood plate to depend therefr'om. The plate II has the passageway or slot I6 therethrough, and the keeper plate I3 has the passageway or slot I1 therethrough for registration with the passageway I6 when the cover is closed. The base I4 has the upward extension I8 projecting through the passageway I6 and supporting a fulcrum stud I9 for the latch bolt 20. l

At its lower end the bolt receives a stud 2| extending from the upper end of a link 22 located back of the base I4, this link, at its lower end, having a stud 23 extending therefrom through the guide slot 24 in the base I4, the stud being engaged by a spring 25 anchored on the plate I4, which spring exerts upward pressure against the link longitudinally thereof.

The stud 2| extends through the arcuate slot 26 in the base I4 which is concentric with the fulcrum stud I9 so that when the latch bolt is moved from latching or unlatching position the stud 2| will travel in the slot. The neutral or center line of pressure of the spring 25 against the link 22 extends through the fulcrum I9 and the lower stud 23 of the link, so that, after the stud 2| at the upper end of the link is moved past this line, the spring pressure will rapidly complete such movement of the stud 2| in the slot and consequently the movement of the latch bolt to its latching or unlatching position.

The latch bolt has the latching arm 21 which, when the cover is closed as shown in Figure l, is held by the pressure of spring 25 against the keeper plate I3 to hold the cover rmly closed. Below the latching arm 21 the latch bolt has the raising arm 28 which, when the latch bolt is swung to its unlatching position, will engage with the keeper plate I3 for a partial raising of the cover, as shown on Figure 3.

Receiving the stud 2| in front of the latch bolt is the downwardly extending detent element or pawl 29, the pawl having the outer arm 30 and the inner arm 3l. Between these arms the pawlis deflected to provide a detent tooth 33 for cooperation with the detent teeth 34 formed along the edge of a portion 35 deflected y out of the base |4, the teeth 34 being in an arcuate row concentric with the fulcrum stud |9. when the latch bolt is in latching position as shown on Figure 1, the pawl tooth33 willvbe at the inner endbi' the tooth row 34 so that the latch bolt will be locked against swing thereof to unlatching position. A hairpin spring 36 is anchored on the stud 2|, its one end engaging the pawl arm 3l and its other end extending through a holev 31 in 'the latch bolt, this spring tending to hold the pawl in locking position.

The pawl has another tooth or abutment 38 shown as extending at substantially right angles with the detent tooth 33, this tooth 38 being displaced rom the lower edge of the latch bolt when the latch bolt is in latching position (Fig. 1). When the pawl 29 is swung toward the right (Fig. 1), the tooth 33 will be disengaged from the detent teeth 34 so as to unlock the latch bolt for swing to unlatching position, and then, upon continued swing to the pawl, the

abutment tooth 38 will engage with the under edge of the latch bolt andthe latch boltwill be positively swung toward its unlatching position until the stud 2l passes through the center line of spring pressure, where'after the spring pressure will quickly snap the latch bolt to its unlatching position, as shown on Figure 3.

For swinging the pawl 29, a wire 39 extends from the end of the pawl arm 38 to a bar 40 slidable in a sleeve 4| secured preferably to the instrument board of the vehicle, the end of the bar having a knob 42 thereon. When this knob is pulled out, the pawl will be operated for unlocking of .the latch bolt, and then swinging the latch bolt toward its unlatching position. The detent tooth and the abutment tooth, 33 and 38, respectively, deect rearwardly from the pawl for engagement of their ends along the base I4 as the pawl is swung and moved for unlatching from the latch bolt. The inner arm 3| of the pawl has a flnger 43 extending downwardly therefrom a distance inwardly from the end of the arm so as to leave a shoulder 44. At its inner end the base |4 has a portion deflected forwardly therefrom to provide 'an abutment ledge 45 in the path of the pawl arm 3|. When the pawl is swung upwardly by pull on the knob 42 into engagement with the latch bolt, and the latch bolt is swung to unlatching position, the end of the finger 43 will travel above the ledge 45 and when the knob 42 is released, the spring 36 will swing the pawl down until the end of the finger 43 engages the ledge, as shown on Figure 3. The cover is now fully unlatched and held in partially open position by the raising arm 28 of the latch bolt.

A safety catch arm 46 extends upwardly from the latch bolt 28, said safetycatch arm -having a hooked end 41'for engagement by a keeper tongue 48 which may be deflected out of the keeper plate I3. When the latch mechanism is moved to unlatching position for partial raising of the cover, the safety catch arm 46 will swing forwardly to bring its hook end above the keeper tongue 48 so as to safety catch the cover against further opening movement, as shown on Figure 3. Before the cover can be further raised, it must rst be swung a short distance downwardly for engagement of the keeper plate |3 with the raising arm 28 of the bolt. As the latch bolt is thus rotated toward latching position, the inner arm 3| of the pawl will be moved to release its finger 43 from the ledge 45, but after such release further movement of the latch bolt toward latching position will be prevented by the engagement of the abutment teeth 33 and 38 on the pawl with a stop 49 on the base I4, which stop may be formed by defiecting forwardly a portion of the base. Such engagement of the pawl with the stop is shown on Figure 4,

and the stop occurs before the stud 2| has reached the center line of pressure of thesprlng 25. As soon/as the downward pressure on the cover is released, after the stop operation by the stop 49, the spring 25 will exert pressure to return the latch bolt toward its unlatching position, and such movement, which is accompanied by movement of the pawl structure away from the stop 49, will release the teeth 33 and 38 from the stop 49 so that the spring 36 may swing the pawl in clockwise direction, and such swing will be stopped when-the shoulder 44 of the arm 3| of the pawl engages the ledge 45 (Figure 5). When the shoulder engages the ledge, the adjacent edge of the f-lnger 43 will abut the side edge of the ledge and the swing of the latch bolt toward unlatching position is stopped a distance short of full return of the bolt to unlatching position, the stud 2l being stopped short of the inner end of the slot 26, the arrangement of the parts being then as shown on Figure 5, the teeth 33 and 38 on pawl 29 being below the level of the stop 49. The inclined or cam outer edge 41' of the hook 41 of the lcatch arm 46 will now be located above and/in the path of the end of the keeper tongue/ 48, and when the cover is now moved upwardly, the engagement of the keeper tongue with this cam edge will swing the catch arm 46 and the latch bolt a distance in latching direction sufiicient for movement of the pawl to withdraw the shoulder 44 from the ledge 45, so that the spring 36 may swing the pawl down with its tooth 33 against the beveled inner end of the detent wall 35 and then, after passage of the keeper tongue upwardly beyond the cam edge 41', the pressure of the spring 25 will swing the released latch bolt to its full unlatching position with the catch arm 46 in its catch position.

When, after full opening of the cover, it is swung down for closure thereof, the keeper tongue 48 will first encounter the inclined upper edge of the catch .hook 41 and the catch arm 46 will be swung to swing the latch bolt a distance toward latching position, and then, after the keeper tongue has moved downwardly past the catch hook, the keeper plate I3 will engage with the raising arm 28 of the latch bolt and the latch bolt will be swung toward its latching position until the pressure of the spring 25 quickly throws it to its full latching position, with the pawl then engaged with a detent 1tooth 34 for locking the latch bolt in its latching position as shown on Figure 1.

Thus, with my improved structure, after the hood cover has been unlatched and partially raisedby oper-ation of a.control located outside of the hood, it will be unnecessary to insert the hand or tools into the partial opening for release of the safety catch which was moved into safety catch position coincident with the partial opening of the cover to prevent further opening movement thereof. With my improved arrangement, all that is necessary is to swing the cover back a distance in closing direction for setting of the safety catch means, so that the cover can then be freely swung to its full open position. How,- ever, should the knob 42 within the passenger compartment be accidentally pulled out while the car is travelling, and the cover thereby unlatched and partially raised, wind pressure 'will be unable to further swing the cover in opening direction, as such movement is prevented by the safety catch arm 46 which was swung into the path of the keeper tongue when the cover was partially raised.

In some installations it may be desirable to have the safety catch keeper move freely past the safety catch arm 46 when the cover is swung from open position to its closed position, to make it easier to finally close the cover. Figure 6, the keeper 50 may be a separate member hinged on the keeper plate I3 as by a pin 5|, with a spring 52 tending to hold the keeper in its position against the plate I3 to be in the path of the safety catch hook 41 when the cover is unlatched and partially raised. The operation of the keeper will then be exactly the same as in the structures of Figures 1 to 5, except that, when the cover is swung from its fully open position back to its closed position, the keeper will glide past the end of the catch hook without effecting a partial swing of the catch hook and of the latch bolt. Then, when the plate I3 of the cover engages with the raising arm 28 of the latch bolt, ordinary down pressure on the cover will cause the latch bolt to be swung to its latching position to thereafter hold the cover closed.

I have shown a practical and eflicient embodiment of the features of my invention, but I do not desire to be limited to the exact construction, arrangement, and operation shown and described, as changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. Latching and safety catch assembly on an automobile hood comprising a latch bolt within the hood normally holding the hood cover closed, safety catch means on said bolt held thereby in inoperative position when said cover is closed, means controlled from outside of said hood for effecting unlatching of said latch bolt and engagement thereof with the cover to effect a partial opening thereof and for effecting setting of said safety catch means to operative position to hold the cover against further opening movement, and means rendered effective by a partial closing movement of said cover after partial opening thereof for rendering said safety catch means ineffective so that said cover may then be moved to full open position.

2. Main latch and safety catch assembly on an automobile hood comprising a latch bolt normally holding said cover closed and safety catch means on said bolt held thereby in inoperative position when the cover is closed, means controllable from outside of said hood for effecting unlatching of said latch bolt and partial opening by the bolt of said cover and setting of said safety catch means to operative position for preventing further opening movement of the cover, and means whereby when said cover is partially returned toward closing position after partial opening thereof and is then swung beyond said partial opening said safety catch means will have been rendered ineffective to prevent full opening of the cover.

3. Latching mechanism on an automobile hood cooperable with keeper means on the hood cover, comprising a latch bolt within the hood normally in engagement with the keeper structure to hold the cover closed, a safety catch arm forming a As shown on part of said latch bolt and normally disconnected from said keeper structure, means controllable from outside of said hood for -causing movement of said latch bolt for unlatching of the cover and engagement thereof with the cover to effect a partial opening thereof and for moving said safety catch arm into engagement with the keeper structure to limit further opening movement of the cover, and means effective, when said cover is partially returned toward closed position after said partial opening thereof and then swung up Y wardly beyond said partial opening, to cause setting of said safety catch arm so that said keeper structure can move 'past the arm without being caught thereby and the cover fuly opened.

4. Latching assembly installed within an automobile hood on the body thereof for cooperation with keeper structure on the hood cover comprising a latch bolt having a latching arm and a raising arm, said latch bolt being normally in latching position with its latching arm engageable against the upper side of the keeperl structure whereby to hold the hood cover closed, a safety catch arm on said latch bolt to be held out of latching range relative to the keeper when the latch bolt is in latching position, a main spring exerting pressure against said latch bolt at opposite sides of a center line for quickly swinging said latch bolt to its latching or unlatching position, a detent element and an abutment engaged thereby when the latch bolt is in its latching position whereby to lock the'latch bolt against movement in unlatching direction, a second spring tending to hold said detent element in said locking position, actuating means connected with said detent element for causing swing thereof to unlock said latch bolt and to then swing said latch bolt toward unlatching position and for completion of movement to such position by said main spring,`said latch bolt raising arm being engageable with the keeper structure to effect partial raising of the hood cover during unlatching thereof, said safety catch arm after unlatching movement of the latch bolt being in the path of the keeper structure to limit further opening movement of the cover, closing pressure on said cover after partial opening thereof causing engagement of the keeper structure with the latch bolt raising arm for swing of said latch bolt toward latc'hing position and movement of said detent element toward its normal position, a stop engageable by said detent element for limiting such movement of the latch bolt toward latching position, the pressure of said main spring after release of closing pressure on said cover tending to'return said latch bolt to its unlatching position and thereby effecting movement of said detent element, a second stop engaged by said detent element after such release from said first stop for preventing full return of said latch bolt to its unlatching position, said safety catch arm having a cam surface disposed when said second stop has become effective to be engaged by the keeper structure upon opening movement of said cover beyond said pary tial opening whereby said safety catch arm and said latch bolt will be swung a distance toward latching position sufficient to release said detent element from said second stop whereby the pressure of the main spring may become effective to swing said latch bolt completely to its unlatching position with said safety catch arm in catching position.

5. Latching assembly on an automobile hood cooperable with keeper structure on the hood' cover, comprising a latch bolt within and mount` ed on the hood body, a safety catch arm on said latch bolt having a hook recess and a cam surface, said latch bolt being normally in latching position to hold the hood cover closed and to hold said safety catch arm in inoperative position, saidlatch bolt being movable to unlatch the cover and to effect a partial opening thereof and to move said safety catch arm into position for cooperation of its hook recess with' said keeper structure to prevent further opening movement of the cover, means rendered effective by a partial closing movement of the cover after partial opening thereof and then opening movement of the cover for setting and holding said latch bolt in an intermediate^unlatching position and corresponding movement of said safety catch arm for withdrawal vof its hook recess from the path of the keeper structure but with its cam surface above and in the path of the keeper structure whereby upon further opening movement of the cover said keeper structure will cooperate with said cam surface to move said safety catch arm and said latch bolt to another intermediate unlatching position, and means effective during such movement of the latch bolt for releasing it from said rst mentioned intermediate position and restoring the latch bolt to its full unlatching position and said safety catch arm to its corresponding position.

6. Latching assembly on an automobile' hood cooperable with keeper structure on the hood cover, comprising a latch bolt within and supported by said hood body, a safety catch arm on said latch bolt, said latch bolt being normally in position for engagement with the keeper structure to hold the hood cover Iclosed and with said safety catch arm in inoperative position, means for effecting movement of said latch bolt to a full unlatching positionv and partial raising thereby of said cover and coincidental movement of said safety catch arm to operative position relative to the keeper structure to limit further opening movement of the cover, means rendered effective by a partial closing movement and then return opening movement of said'cover after par@ tial opening thereof for effecting setting and holding of said latch bolt in an intermediate unlatching position and with said safety catch arm moved. sufficiently to release said cover forfurther opening movement thereof, said safety catch arm having a cam surface and said keeper structure being cooperable with said cam surface to allow further opening movement of the cover, and means rendered effective upon disengagement of the cam surface and keeper structure for restoring said latch bolt to its full unlatching position with coincidental movement of said safety catch arm to its operative position.

7. Latching mechanism on .an automobile hood comprising a latch bolt Within and supported by the hood body and having a safety catch hook, said latch bolt being adapted for normally engaging the cover to hold the cover closed and adapted to be moved to unlatch the cover and to engage therewith to Aeffect a partial opening thereof and to set the safety catch hook for hook engagement with the cover to limit further opening movement of the cover, means operated by a partial closing movement of the cover after partial opening thereof and then return of said cover to said partial opening for setting said latch bolt With said safety catch hook in an intermediate position, and means for holding said bolt and safety catch hook in said intermediate position, said safety catch hook having a cam surface disposed in the path of the cover for camming engagement by the cover upon further opening movement thereof while said safety catch hook is in its intermediate position whereby said safety said latch bolt toward unlatching position.

EDWARD D. DALL. 

